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Saturday, 27 October 2012

Bread Street Kitchen, New Change

Who are they?Another establishment in the New Change mall overlooked by St Paul's Cathedral, Bread Street Kitchen is one of Gordon Ramsey's new ventures and claims to provide a relaxed dining experience in the heart of the city. Furnished as an answer to the trendy East London joints of Hoxton and beyond, they offer a fancy and upmarket selection of different plates, not least of which is the humble burger, squeezed on to the menu amid expensive steaks and seafood dishes. Time to see if this offering from the sweary chef is worth all the fuss.

ThoughtsWith ample space spread across a downstairs bar and spacious open seating area above, even at busy times I would wager this restaurant would still have seats available for the concerning diner. Thus on a thursday lunchtime, an esteemed colleague and I had little trouble getting seated and served and proceded to order the only burger on the menu; the Short Rib Burger with Monteray Jack cheese, with a side order of fries; an order that was fulfilled remarkably quickly.This description actually doesn't do the burger enough justice, as the generously sized burger comes accompanied not only by plenty of the aforementioned cheese, but also a generous helping of burger sauce coleslaw, a layer of gerkhin and a dollup of their spicy tomato sauce as well. The orange coloured tomato sauce is a unique prospect at the Bread Street Kitchen, although tasted more on the paprika side of things than tomato.Given the surroundings, I opted to eat with a knife and fork whilst Harry was more than happy to get stuck in with both hands. I shouldn't have worried; the burger was a popular choice amongst the lunch diners at the time and most had eschewed cutlery to enjoy the well crafted burger. The quality of the beef was superb and was complimented nicely by the cheese, which didn't overpower the taste of the meat as I had found with others I have tried. The bun was light and well toasted and held its own throughout the meal, whilst the cool lettuce and coleslaw was in just the right amount to counterpoint the burger nestled on top. What impressed us both in particular was the care and attention given to the chips, served in a small bucket. While not as numerous as you would find in other outlets, they certainly were very thick cut and deeply fried to leave an even, crispy outer shell with immaculately fluffy potato centres. The photograph below is not a representation of portion size, as I had already eaten a few by the time I had remembered to take a picture.ConclusionLooking at this burger, it's definitely a much more upmarket animal, from the manner of presentation, quality of ingredients and the taste. All in all, it is definitely a burger worthy of bearing Ramsey's name. Unfortunately, this also extends to the upmarket price. Whilst nearby city slickers from the stock exchange may not care about the price, this certainly was one of the most expensive burgers I have eaten. Perhaps this burger is better labelled as a nice thing to have now and again for a treat.Score: